Unit 3
Culture shock
contacts des cultures
Thème : Les chocs culturels
Le développement du tourisme et des relations internationales, les échanges dans le cadre de l’éducation ou du
commerce permettent de mettre de plus en plus facilement en contact des individus aux cultures variées, dont
certains aspects peuvent s’avérer surprenants, amusants et parfois choquants.
aspects du thème
documents du manuel
manuel
guide
Voyager, partir à la rencontre de l’autre. • The straw hut
(illustration)
37
71
Que veut dire « choc culturel » ?
Définition des sociologues.
• The stages of culture shock
(document audio court)
36
73
Choc lié à l’écart entre parole
et attitude.
• The Traveller
(bande dessinée de Quino)
38
75
Choc lié aux pratiques alimentaires.
• Surprise, surprise!
(document audio long)
39
77
Choc lié au langage corporel et
à ses exigences contradictoires.
• The Silent Language
(texte sociologique)
39
80
Les différences culturelles et
le commerce international.
• Don’t sell thick diapers in Tokyo
(presse)
• Before and After (presse)
40
82
41
82, 84
Une situation de communication
inter-culturelle.
• Everyday English – Buying food
abroad
41
86
Choc lié à l’ignorance des pratiques
culturelles : les étonnements d’un
professeur d’anglais au Kenya.
• First morning at school
(littérature)
42
86
Choc culturel et préjugés :
les tribulations d’une Américaine
à Londres.
• “England is not exactly
like I pictured it” (littérature)
épreuve de Bac L
46
93
Objectifs majeurs
Practice makes
perfect, pp. 44-45
■ lexique
voyage, modes de vie, réactions, préjugés
1, 2
■ grammaire
comparatifs et superlatifs, prépositions,
adjectifs composés, infinitif ou be + ing ?
réflexion sur la langue
3, 4,
5, 6
■ communication
discours indirect ; conséquence ; conseil
7, 8, 9
■ phonologie
mots transparents ; accent de phrase
10, 11
■ culture
proverbes ; lieux et habitudes culturelles
12, 13
■ méthodologie
comment affiner sa compréhension auditive :
Back-up: How to understand oral messages
(manuel, pp. 48-49)
■ citoyenneté
s’ouvrir aux différences culturelles
■ entraînement au Bac épreuve de Bac L ; aménagements pour les sections ES-S
et technologiques ; Bac oral
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Classement des documents par ordre de difficulté croissante
¿
– The straw hut (icono,
pp. 36-37)
– The stages of culture shock
(audio court, p. 36)
– The Traveller (icono, p. 38)
– Before and After (pub, p. 41)
– Buying food abroad (audio,
p. 41)
¿¿
¿¿¿
– Surprise, surprise! (audio long,
p. 39)
– Don’t sell thick diapers in Tokyo
(texte, p. 40)
– “What’s for lunch?” (icono,
p. 47)
– The Silent Language (texte,
p. 39)
– First morning at school (texte,
p. 42)
– “England is not exactly like I
pictured it” (texte Bac L, p. 46)
The straw hut, illustration, page 37
Introduction
Cette image, tirée d’une publicité pour l’association de compagnies aériennes Skyteam
(avec la catch-phrase “We strive to send you on vacation faster”), symbolise bien la facilité qu’offrent les transports aériens de se déplacer rapidement vers tout endroit de la
planète, avec ses conséquences : le dépaysement, qui se gérait progressivement lorsqu’on
voyageait avec des moyens de transport plus lents, fait place au « choc culturel ». On
« débarque » dans un monde nouveau (c’est l’image de la passerelle) sans avoir eu le
temps de se défaire de sa propre carapace culturelle et de se préparer à en rencontrer
d’autres. D’où un certain nombre de réactions, qui ont été analysées par des sociologues
et des psychologues américains, et qui sont présentées dans le document audio.
Objectifs
■ lexique
transports aériens, tropiques, bâtiments, synonymes de strange
et de exciting
■ grammaire
comparatifs (GF 24)
■ communication
expressions du conseil ; expression libre à partir de mots-clés
■ culture
le choc culturel, émotion répertoriée
■ méthodologie
analyse d’image (composition et symbolique) ; repérages dans
un message oral (cf. Back-up, pp. 48-49)
Repères
culturels
Extraits d’une conférence par le Dr Carmen Guanipa, de l’Université de San
Diego, Californie
The term “culture shock” was introduced for the first time in 1958 to describe
the anxiety produced when a person moves to a completely new environment.
This term expresses the lack of direction, the feeling of not knowing what to do
or how to do things in a new environment, and not knowing what is appropriate
or inappropriate. The feeling of culture shock generally sets in after the first few
weeks of coming to a new place.
We can describe culture shock as the physical or emotional discomfort one suffers
when coming to live in another country or a place different from the place of origin.
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Often, the way we lived before is not considered as normal in the new place.
Everything may be different, for example, not speaking the language, not knowing
how to use banking machines, not knowing how to use the public telephone, etc.
Though some people may experience real pain from culture shock, it is also an
opportunity for redefining one’s life’s objectives, and for acquiring new
perspectives. Culture shock can make one develop a better understanding of
oneself and stimulate personal creativity.
Pistes proposées
Présentation de l’image, si possible sous forme de transparent et démunie du titre de l’unité. Laisser les élèves
réagir librement, pour voir qui focalise davantage sur les aspects positifs ou négatifs de la situation, afin de
redonner ultérieurement la parole aux élèves concernés pour qu’ils développent leur première réaction, enrichie de la réflexion collective.
Question 1 : description, activité lexicale
Les élèves de bon niveau n’auront sans doute pas besoin de l’aide lexicale proposée dans le manuel ; les élèves
en difficulté pourront en disposer. La présence de distracteurs dans cette liste oblige l’élève à faire de véritables
choix lexicaux plutôt que d’utiliser machinalement les mots proposés.
Si les élèves ont besoin d’être stimulés sur le plan lexical, on pourra leur donner la liste et leur demander de
trouver des catégories pour ranger les mots. Par exemple :
– termes à connotation positive : lagoon, palm-trees, sea-side, tropics, etc.
– termes à connotation négative : accident, flood, prison, storm, etc.
– termes évoquant l’eau : flood, lagoon, lake, seaside, storm, tropics
– termes évoquant des bâtiments ou parties de bâtiment : corridor, hut, piles, prison, roof, stairs, wigwam
– termes liés aux transports aériens : boarding ramp, emergency exit, runway, wheels, accident, etc.
Une fois ces listes établies, on fera effacer les mots qui ne peuvent servir à la description de l’image, et on proposera aux élèves d’utiliser ceux restants pour décrire l’image.
This is the picture of a place in the tropics: we can see the calm, deep-blue water of a lagoon, some
palm-trees in the background on the right and the typical cloudy sky. On the left we can see a straw hut,
built on piles to protect it from the water, with a spiral metal stair-case allowing the occupants to use a
boat. On the right, what seems to be a glass corridor is in fact the boarding ramp of a plane. We can just
make out the wheels beneath it, and the “nose”, or exit door, placed right up against the hut.
Question 2 : contraste dû à la composition de l’image
Si les élèves n’ont pas été entraînés à l’analyse iconographique, on les guidera en leur
proposant de trouver 1. comment l’image est construite, 2. quel est le centre d’intérêt
de chaque division, 3. ce qui est symbolisé par les objets principaux.
L’image peut être découpée en quatre carrés égaux : les deux du bas contiennent l’eau,
qui évoque la lagune, et ceux du dessus font se côtoyer la paillotte, qui représente
l’habitat ancestral et paisible des contrées tropicales, et la passerelle d’accès qui
évoque la modernité, la vitesse et l’intrusion.
The picture can be divided into four equal squares. The lower two are composed of / made up of water,
whose crystal-clearness evoke the tropics.
What strikes at first sight is the combination of the two main elements in the upper squares, each of them
occupying the same portion of the picture. These objects (the straw hut and the boarding ramp) are never
found in the same place. So it seems strange / odd / peculiar / queer / bizarre / weird to put them together /
combine them in a picture. There is even a sharp contrast represented by the peace and quiet of the hut and
the hustle and bustle that can be associated with airports and travel.
Les élèves peuvent se demander qui sont les personnages représentés sur les marches en ombres chinoises. En
l’absence d’information à ce sujet, on leur laissera faire des suppositions :
Who may the people on the stairs be?
The people on the stairs can either be locals enjoying sunset or sunrise as a daily habit, or tourists enjoying
the spectacle as a totally unusual and fascinating situation which will be worth writing home about
(postcards representing sunsets are all-time favourites, because of their natural beauty).
Question 3 : symbolique de la composition et lien avec le titre de l’unité
On demandera aux élèves de présenter leur propre interprétation du terme “culture shock”, et de le relier à l’image (voir la rubrique Repères culturels).
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What is symbolized here is modern tourism and especially the fact that air travel allows people to meet
other cultures, other lifestyles, very easily and very quickly. So quickly that sometimes you are not ready
for the many differences you can see between local lifestyles and your own. The “nose” of the boarding
ramp, which is stuck onto the wall of the hut, looks like a giant camera which seems to be spying on the
natives’ lives and makes tourists appear as “peeping toms” (terme étudié en classe de Seconde).
Étude du document sonore
On aura noté au tableau les propositions des élèves, que l’on va maintenant confronter à la définition plus « officielle » des sociologues. C’est un document court et assez facile, dans la mesure où il est découpé en petites
unités de sens et contient de nombreux mots transparents, même à l’oral. Si les élèves ont des difficultés en
compréhension auditive, on se reportera aux conseils proposés dans la fiche méthodologique Back-up: How to
understand oral messages (pp. 48-49).
Script du document sonore
PART 1
The term “culture shock” expresses the feelings which set in when a person moves to a completely
different environment.
PART 2
Culture shock comes in stages.
The first one is called “the honeymoon stage”, because everything in the new culture seems to be
interesting, exciting and idealized.
The second stage may appear within the first weeks. It is a period of transition between the two cultures,
when difficulties start to pile up and develop feelings of incompetence or frustration. Some people are
stuck in this stage and just declare that some aspects of the new culture are just stupid.
But most of them reach at least the third stage, when you begin to understand the reasons behind the
“stupid stuff” and start learning the ropes.
Then comes the integration stage, when people accept the differences with their own culture and feel
more at ease with the new one. They may even develop a feeling of belonging.
There may be a fifth stage, called the “re-entry shock”, when people return to their country of origin and
regret that their newly-acquired customs are not in use in the old culture. Funny, isn’t it?
PART 3
But, in short, if you maintain an easy-going attitude and if you greet things instead of fighting them,
culture shock will not really affect you and you will enjoy experiencing the new culture.
Question 4 : définition de “culture shock”
On fera écouter la première partie : The term “culture shock” expresses the feelings which set in when a
person moves to a completely different environment, que l’on fera reformuler, si possible à l’aide des expressions déjà notées au tableau. Puis on passera la deuxième partie en entier, après avoir posé clairement la question : How many stages are presented? Les élèves ne doivent pas prendre de notes pendant l’écoute en continu, car ils ont peu de choses à repérer à ce stade.
Four stages are presented, with a possible fifth one, depending on the circumstances (“There may be a fifth
stage”).
Écoute, fractionnée, de la deuxième partie, afin de repérer, pour chaque stade, au moins une expression
positive ou négative et de la noter dans un tableau. Le professeur posera la question : Which of these stages are
positive, which are negative? Pick out at least one positive or one negative term for each stage.
positive words
stage 1
(honeymoon), interesting, exciting, idealized
difficulties, incompetence, frustration,
stuck, stupid
stage 2
stage 3
understand, learning the ropes
stage 4
(integration) accept the differences, more at
ease, feeling of belonging
stage 5
negative words
re-entry shock, regret
Troisième écoute, fractionnée, de la deuxième partie, permettant aux élèves de mettre en commun leurs trou-
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vailles. À partir de ces mots-clés inscrits sur transparent ou au tableau, on fera reformuler l’essentiel de chaque
phase, en faisant ajouter, si possible, des exemples vécus ou rencontrés en littérature ou au cinéma (par exemple,
Lost in Translation, film de Sofia Coppola, sur les difficultés d’intégration dans la culture japonaise), et l’on s’interrogera sur le nom de la première phase. Le sujet se prête à une manipulation des comparatifs (voir GF 24).
Question 5 : the honeymoon stage
In the first stage, the new arrival may feel euphoric and be pleased by all the new things encountered. Just like
newlyweds who only want to see the sunny side of their partner’s personality, people’s first reaction often
consists of focusing on what is new, different, attractive (entertaining, rousing, thrilling, exhilarating, funny,
fanciful, etc.) in the country they are visiting. That is why the first stage is called the “honeymoon stage”.
Examples: discovery of new type of vegetation, pleasant climate, savoury food, interesting architecture,
easy-going natives, etc.
What about the other stages?
In the second stage, simple things may prove difficult, just because you do not know all the rules and the
habits, and that may frustrate you, because you do not understand the reasons behind these rules. This may
trigger off feelings of incompetence, impatience and discontent / dissatisfaction. Examples: opening hours
of banks or pubs, unreliable schedules of public transports, nature of food, rituals during meals, different
conception of time and non-respect of appointments, etc.
Stage 3: This stage is characterized by gaining some understanding of the new culture and feeling more
and more familiar with the new environment. As some rules are clarified, you can adopt them. Example:
offices closed during hot hours of the day, food adapted to needs created by the climate, slow trading rituals
allowing people to make acquaintance, etc.
In stage four, though some of your cultural “props” have been removed, you no longer feel like a fish out
of water. You get more and more integrated in the host country and your adjustments to the new culture may
develop in you a satisfactory feeling of belonging. Examples: knowing how to behave and what to say when
you are introduced to new people, knowing when to take statements seriously and when not, being able to
make purchases like natives, etc.
If you are to return home, you may enter the fifth stage and be frustrated by the inability or unwillingness
of your family and friends to understand the changes in your personality or by not finding in your country
some characteristics of the host country that you have adopted.
On pourra proposer aux élèves cette citation de Judith Martin, professeur de Communication Interculturelle à
l’Université du Minnesota : “When you go abroad, you expect things to be different; when you come home,
nobody expects you to have changed.”
Écoute, en continu, de la troisième partie, pour faire apprécier l’aspect optimiste de la conclusion :
But, in short, if you maintain an easy-going attitude and if you greet things instead of fighting them, culture
shock will not really affect you and you will enjoy experiencing the new culture.
On fera repérer des termes qui s’opposent et qui décrivent deux attitudes possibles : greet / fight ; affect / enjoy ;
et l’on fera redire l’attitude préconisée, le terme easy-going faisant partie des key words de l’unité.
The more tolerant and open-minded, the more likely you are to develop enjoyable intercultural
relationships and experiences.
Question 6 : expression personnelle
Les conseils suivants sont inspirés d’une longue liste établie par des psychologues spécialisés sur le sujet. Ils sont
proposés ici à l’infinitif ou sous forme de noms, mais on veillera à faire varier les expressions du conseil : should
– ought to – had better – if I were you, I’d… – why not…? etc.
– Be patient. The process of adaptation to new situations will always take time. Focus your power on getting
through the transition.
– Learn to be constructive. If you encounter an unfavorable environment, don’t put yourself in that position
again. Be easy on yourself. Develop tolerance and a sense of humour.
– Include a regular form of physical activity in your routine. This will help combat the sadness and
loneliness in a constructive manner.
– Relaxation and meditation are also proven to be very positive for people who are passing through periods
of stress.
– Maintain contact with your ethnic group. This will give you a feeling of belonging.
– Develop contact with the new culture: learn the language, volunteer in community activities, etc.
– Allow yourself to feel sad about what you have left behind, and maintain confidence in yourself. Follow
your ambitions and continue your plans for the future. Etc.
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Key words, p. 36
Après cette sensibilisation au thème de l’unité, les élèves seront invités à manipuler du lexique qui leur permettra soit de mieux comprendre les documents proposés, soit de s’exprimer de manière plus précise et plus riche.
Bien que les termes difficiles soient traduits dans le Lexicon (p. 150), pour que l’élève puisse valider ses
connaissances, nous déconseillons de faire apprendre ces mots sous forme de liste traduite. Nous proposons
dans la partie Practice makes perfect deux activités permettant d’établir des réseaux de sens entre ces différents termes, ce qui est plus favorable à la mémorisation.
Les élèves pourront mettre en œuvre une partie de ce lexique dès l’étude de la B.D. de Quino, dans la rubrique
Background, page 38, intitulée “The Traveller”.
Background: The Traveller, p. 38
Introduction
Cette B.D. quasi-muette de Quino est une illustration de la première phase du choc culturel, appelée “the honeymoon stage” : le voyageur est ouvert à son nouvel environnement,
et tire un grand plaisir de ses premières rencontres, avant de déchanter.
On notera la construction répétitive qui développe l’idée de satisfaction dans les trois premières bandes, suivie d’une chute, dans la dernière bande. C’est une construction fréquente dans les bandes dessinées de ce format, notamment chez Quino. On pourra faire le
parallèle avec la construction narrative de certaines nouvelles qui possèdent “a final twist”
(voir “The Fly-paper”, pp. 136-137 et “Just Good Friends”, pp. 140-143 du manuel).
Objectifs
■ lexique
attitudes
■ grammaire
V or be + ing ?
■ communication
différencier language et body language
■ méthodologie
s’exprimer à partir d’un document iconographique
ne contenant pas d’élément lexical réutilisable
Repères
culturels
QUINO, or Joaquín Salvador Lavado, was born on July 1932 in the city of
Mendoza (Argentina). He got the nickname when he was a kid, to tell him apart
from his uncle Joaquín Tejón, a painter and advertising draughtsman, who
influenced Quino in discovering his vocation at the age of three. In the 40s, he
lost his parents. After finishing his primary studies he decided to enrol in the
Fine Arts School of Mendoza, which he would abandon years later to devote
himself to drawing cartoons and humour.
In 1954, he settled precariously in Buenos Aires and started to visit the offices of
every newspaper and magazine looking for a job. Esto Es magazine published
his first page of graphic humour. From that time, his cartoons have been
published in countless newspapers and magazines in Latin America and Europe.
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In 1960 he married Alicia Colombo. The honeymoon in Rio de Janeiro was his first
international trip. They did not have any children.
In 1963 he released his first book of cartoons, Mundo Quino, a collection of mute
drawings. In 1964 Mafalda appeared for the first time and since then several
Mafalda books have been released in Argentina and abroad.
He travelled to many countries to show his work and was awarded several
international prizes, such as Draughtsman of the Year in 1982. He currently
publishes new drawings every Sunday in the magazine of the Clarín newspaper.
Pistes proposées
On laissera aux élèves un temps de lecture personnelle suffisant pour qu’ils puissent comprendre que la clé de
l’histoire se trouve dans le texte répétitif des bulles. Quand ils manifesteront leur réaction, on pourra poser les
questions du manuel.
Question 1 : situation
A traveller arrives in a foreign country (maybe in North Africa or the Middle East), meets and greets people
on his way to the hotel. We can see a foreign language in all the balloons, with letters that are not familiar
to us but look like Arabic. The most striking thing is that there is the same message in all of them.
Question 2 : ambiance
There are five similar frames in the first three strips, where the main character meets people: an elderly man
with a white beard, sitting on a chair on the pavement, a shopkeeper selling clay pots, a boy playing on top
of a stone wall, a couple of women, probably back from the market, and a man riding a donkey. All these
people in their turn greet the man with what seems to be a welcoming expression. As he does not know the
language, he acknowledges them, answers them back silently with a smile and a polite gesture with his hat /
a tip of the hat / the raising of his hat.
What about the traveller’s apparent feelings?
He seems to enjoy the place and the friendly contact with the people he meets. He may be discovering the
first stage of culture shock, called the “honeymoon stage”, where everything seems pleasant and exciting.
Question 3 : chute de l’histoire
As the man arrives in the hotel, he sees the hotel clerk who, as he was trying to drive a nail into a wall to
hang a mirror, has just hit his hand with the hammer. This man is “insulting” the hammer with the same
phrase as the one the traveller has just heard five times in the preceding scenes. This scene reveals to him
that what he had heard beforehand was not at all a welcoming expression, but an insult. That’s why he looks
so disappointed / dismayed / flabbergasted / nonplussed.
What about the honeymoon stage, then?
The scene at the hotel may put an end to the honeymoon stage. The traveller has understood that in this
country, he’d better not take things at face value. He has lost his cultural points of reference and learnt that
language and body language can be in total opposition in this new environment. So he may develop a
feeling of uneasiness / discomfort and mistrust, typical of the second stage of cultural shock.
Question 4 : développement des titres proposés
The title Good and bad manners is possible, because there is a confusion of good and bad manners in the
story – people greeting someone with a very affable, amiable attitude, but using a term that may be very
offensive.
The title The complexity of vocabulary could be used only if the expression presented in the balloons may
have both a positive and an offensive meaning according to the context.
The title Illusion and disillusion takes into account the positive impression the man has at the beginning
and the disappointment he shows in the last frame.
Question 5 : morale de l’histoire
On laissera les élèves s’exprimer librement, on leur demandera de noter les propositions de leurs camarades
(exercice de compréhension auditive) et on pourra éventuellement faire voter pour le meilleur titre. Par exemple :
The moral of the story could be: Never take things at face value or Learn before leaving, or....
Activité complémentaire : Grammaire
V or be + ing ?
Dans le même objectif que l’Activity 6 (p. 44), on proposera aux élèves le résumé de l’histoire, qu’ils devront
compléter en conjuguant les verbes aux temps et formes appropriés.
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At first, the tourist was very happy: he (meet) a lot of people on his way from the station to the hotel and all the
people in the street (greet) him. But he was extremely disappointed when he realised that the angry man who
(hurt) his hand while he (try) to drive a nail into the wall (use) in an uncouth way the same expression as all
the courteous people he (meet) before.
Corrigé
At first, the tourist was very happy: he was meeting a lot of people on his way from the station to the hotel
and all the people in the street were greeting him. But he was extremely disappointed when he realised that
the angry man who had hurt his hand while he was trying to drive a nail into the wall was using in an
uncouth way the same expression as all the courteous people he had met before.
Background: “Surprise, surprise!”, p. 39
Introduction
Association de repérages iconographiques et sonores pour donner du sens à ces souvenirs
de vacances évoqués par plusieurs amis, où le choc culturel s’est produit autour de la nourriture offerte à l’étranger.
Objectifs
Repères
culturels
■ lexique
nourriture, apparence, goûts, réactions
■ communication
récits d’expériences et de réactions personnelles
■ culture
coutumes venues d’ailleurs ; proverbe “Better safe than sorry!”
■ méthodologie
lien entre image et message oral
Détail des illustrations
emplacement
photographe
date
commentaire
1 : en haut
Darren Maybury
1995
2 : en bas
à gauche
Steve Kaufman
1989
3 : en bas
à droite
Tim Page
1999
Woman cooks insects at Market Stall,
Bangkok
Cooked Salamander: a Hakone
salamander, prepared with dipping
sauce at a restaurant in Hinoemata
(Japan). The salamanders are native to
the area and are both eaten as a
delicacy and used as traditional
medicine.
Bottles of snake liquor are lined
up for sale at a souvenir stand in Cu
Chi, Vietnam.
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Pistes proposées
Script du document sonore
PART 1
LAURA:
So, here come Brad and Brenda, just back from their honeymoon. Hi, folks. Did everything go off
as you expected?
BRAD:
Hi, Laura! Oh, yeah, Brenda and I had a hell of a time in Japan. We visited lots of gorgeous places…
BRENDA: And we had a lot of surprises…
LAURA: Like…?
BRENDA: For instance, the first night, we went to a restaurant where they had no English version of the menu.
So we looked around and saw that our neighbours had appetizing food on their plates and seemed
to be enjoying it very much. So we asked for the same thing.
LAURA: How did you like it?
BRAD:
Oh, boy, it was odd. We’d never had anything like it. But we were so hungry that we managed to
eat it all up. And then our neighbour tried his best English to ask us if we had enjoyed the fried
salamanders.
LAURA: Fried salamanders? Oh, my God, how did you react?
BRENDA: We looked at each other, horrified. And then we burst out laughing. Our poor neighbour never
understood why…
PART 2
LAURA:
Do you remember, Terry, that we had almost the same experience in Bangkok, when we had fried
insects that we believed to be shrimps?
TERRY: Of course I do! But once you knew, your stomach refused to keep the insects down, and we were
considered as very rude tourists…
BRENDA: (laughing) Throwing up in a restaurant… What a disgrace! What about you, John? Ever felt the same?
PART 3
JOHN:
LAURA:
JOHN:
TERRY:
JOHN:
Well, uh, the strangest thing I ever had to swallow was a kind of liquor that my colleague in Vietnam
wanted me to taste before leaving the country. He went to the kitchen to prepare the drinks, while
I was sitting in his living-room, and he came back with what looked like bourbon, but tasted
somewhat bitter. In fact, I fought my revulsion and forced myself to finish my glass. Then he
suggested I took the rest of the bottle home. That’s when I saw something in it that looked like a
coil of rope, but happened to be… a snake, a real snake!
Geez… What did you do, then?
I felt very angry, but I struggled to behave myself, because offending him could have ruined our
collaboration. But I promised myself that never ever again would I trust a foreigner about food or
drinks...
Better safe than sorry, hey?
You bet!
ÉTAPE 1 : anticipation
Livres fermés, faire écouter le début de l’enregistrement (bruit de fond et dialogue jusqu’à “And we had a lot of
surprises...”), après avoir posé la Question 1 et demandé de repérer les noms propres (Brad, Brenda, Laura, Japan).
Question 1 : contexte
As we can hear a buzz of conversation and laughter, we can imagine there is a party going on / in full swing.
The person named Laura is talking to some of the guests. She welcomes Brad and Brenda, who are just back
from Japan. So the party is probably being held at her place. She must be the hostess.
What do we know about Brad and Brenda?
They are a couple of newlyweds. They spent their honeymoon in Japan, where they had a great time (“a hell
of a time”), but also many surprises.
Can you imagine what kind of surprises?
Laisser les élèves imaginer les surprises rencontrées par les jeunes mariés, en recyclant les idées et lexique
utilisés dans l’exploitation de la page d’ouverture de l’unité, ou issus du film Lost in Translation. Noter les
suggestions au tableau. Il est probable que le problème de la nourriture sera évoqué, on ne lui donnera pas
d’importance particulière avant d’avoir entendu le reste de l’enregistrement.
ÉTAPE 2 : compréhension globale
Livres toujours fermés, poser la Question 2 et faire écouter l’enregistrement en entier, sans autoriser la prise de
notes, puisqu’il s’agit ici d’une opération de skimming visant simplement à trouver le sujet de la conversation.
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Question 2 : problème
All these people are talking about the strange experiences they had abroad, concerning food or drinks.
ÉTAPE 3 : compréhension de détail
Faire ouvrir le manuel et décrire brièvement les images :
– street vendor / cook at an outdoor restaurant frying small fish or shrimps.
– beautiful white, rectangular plate with a combination of leaves, cream and two twig-like items which look
like vanilla pods.
– square-shaped bottles full of amber liquid which evoke a famous brand of whisky. Some sort of decoration
inside the bottles.
Avant de repasser l’enregistrement, proposer aux élèves de travailler avec la grille suivante :
names
places
problems
reactions
picture n°
Faire une pause à la fin de chaque partie pour que les élèves puissent prendre des notes. Leur rappeler qu’il ne
s’agit pas de reproduire le script, mais de noter des mots-clés, qu’ils développeront ensuite à leur manière.
Question 3 : à chacun son expérience !
names
places
PART 1:
Brad
Brenda
Japan
PART 2:
Laura
Terry
PART 3:
John
Bangkok
Vietnam
problems
reactions
• couldn’t read the menu; asked for • first horrified, then
the same food as their neighbours,
burst out laughing
ate it all up, discovered it was
fried salamanders
• believed they were having
• Laura threw up /
shrimps, but they were fried
vomited
insects
• had a drink out of a bottle which • angry but couldn’t show
contained a real snake
it; has lost confidence in
foreigners
picture n°
2
1
3
ÉTAPE 4 : expression personnelle
La Question 4 vise à faire raconter des expériences similaires par des élèves qui en auraient vécu. Mais elle est
posée au conditionnel pour qu’aucun élève ne se sente exclu. On s’appuiera sur le lexique entendu dans l’enregistrement pour s’exprimer personnellement.
Question 4 :
adjectives: a hell of a…, gorgeous, appetizing, odd, hungry, fried, horrified, poor, rude, strangest, bitter,
angry, safe, sorry…
nouns: restaurant, menu, neighbours, food, plates, salamanders, experience, insects, shrimps, stomach,
tourists, disgrace, repulsion, snake…
verbs: go off, expect, visit, enjoy, ask for, like, eat up, burst out laughing, understand, remember, believe,
be considered as, feel, taste, fight, force oneself, struggle, trust…
ÉTAPE 5 : ouverture
L’Activity 13 (p. 45) va permettre de faire le lien entre le document sonore qui ne traite que de nourriture et la
question de compétences croisées qui vise d’autres sources de chocs culturels. Voir le corrigé page 93.
L’objectif de cette activité est de recycler le lexique entendu depuis le début de l’unité, et
notamment celui du document sonore court “The stages of culture shock” et du document
sonore long “Surprise, surprise!”, par exemple le proverbe Better safe than sorry, ou l’expression You bet! pour répondre éventuellement à l’intervention d’un camarade. On ne laissera pas les élèves
esquiver la question sous prétexte qu’ils n’ont jamais voyagé, car les chocs culturels peuvent aussi nous surprendre chez nous quand des étrangers y séjournent. On peut même en faire l’expérience avec ses propres voisins, ou en visite chez des amis, chaque culture familiale ayant développé ses rites personnels, qui peuvent
aussi nous étonner, nous écœurer ou nous séduire.
Il n’est pas possible de donner un corrigé pour une telle question, mais on insistera sur une structure de présentation, qui pourrait être la suivante :
1. Faire une narration des circonstances au prétérit, avec des dates, des lieux, des personnages précis, des mots
de liaison indiquant temporalité et causalité.
2. Dire l’effet produit (surprised? flabbergasted? disgusted? fascinated? tempted? rather pleased?) et comment on a réagi (verbes d’action).
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Background: The Silent Language, p. 39
Introduction
Il ne suffit pas d’apprendre des langues étrangères pour communiquer avec des personnes
d’une autre culture. La communication non-verbale, le langage corporel, l’attitude générale dans les interactions avec des étrangers peuvent aussi être des sources d’incompréhension et d’inconfort. Edward T. Hall en fournit ici un exemple, tiré de ses observations
sur la communication en Amérique du Nord et en Amérique latine.
Objectifs
■ lexique
attitudes
■ communication
expression de la conséquence
■ culture
la distance de confort entre interlocuteurs est une donnée
culturelle
Repères
culturels
Edward T. Hall (voir biographie, p. 151 du manuel)
Edward T. Hall made many discoveries in how people learn language. He found that
there were three levels of learning, the Informal level, the Formal level, and the
Technical level.
• The Informal level is defined as the level with the most emotional involvement.
Informal learning is learning by example, by modeling, often out of awareness. It
takes no conscious focus on learning.
• The Formal level of learning is the middle level of emotional involvement. Formal
learning uses rules. For a general student a Formal level of learning could include being
on time, looking attentive, reading all assignments, and passing tests with high grades.
• The Technical level is the level with the least emotional involvement. Technical
learning is learning by discussion of the reasons for the rules.
Pistes proposées
Livres fermés, le professeur soumet aux élèves le titre du document, et leur pose la première question. Le terme
oxymoron figure dans la fiche méthodologique de l’unité précédente, et devrait donc « parler » aux élèves. Dans
le cas contraire, on les renverra à la définition de la page 35.
Question 1 : définition
At first sight, the expression “silent language” looks like an oxymoron, since the two terms appear
contradictory: “language” means that you express yourself, while “silent” means the opposite. But on
second thoughts, it seems possible to express your ideas or personality without using words, for instance
through body language (facial expressions, postures, etc.).
Voici ce qu’en dit The Guinness Encyclopedia :
“Even in the most casual of conversations, extra messages are communicated by various parts of the body. It
is often these signals, rather than the words themselves, that are the most influential – they convey what the
speaker truly feels. ‘Body language’ is the popular term for non-verbal communication – it refers to all those
signals that are not transmitted through the verbal channel.”
On procédera à une lecture silencieuse du texte pour repérer quel aspect de la communication non-verbale est
visé dans ce texte. Il s’agit de l’espace entre interlocuteurs : distance (mentionné quatre fois en neuf lignes),
distant, close (deux fois), space. On fera conclure :
80
So, the problem raised in this passage is how the distance between two people who are engaged in a
conversation may be felt as comfortable or uncomfortable, according to their own cultural habits.
Question 2 : comparaison
Edward T. Hall is North American. When he says “we” he means his compatriots while “they” refers to
people from Latin America / Central America.
Latin Americans
North Americans
• prefer a short interaction distance
• feel comfortable when close to the person they
are talking to
• try to move close
• think North Americans are “distant, cold,
withdrawn, unfriendly”
• climb over obstacles to get closer
• prefer a longer interaction distance
• interpret short interaction distance as either
sexual or hostile
• withdraw and back away when they judge the
interaction distance is too short
• think Latin Americans are intrusive (“breathing
down our necks, crowding us and spraying our
faces”)
• barricade themselves behind obstacles
On pourra vérifier la compréhension du texte à l’aide du questionnaire suivant :
Are the following ideas expressed in the passage?
a. Both Latin Americans and North Americans like to have a “comfortable distance” between two
speakers. Right.
b. The expression “comfortable distance” means the same for both groups.
Wrong: the comfortable interaction distance is much shorter for Latin Americans.
c. Latin Americans feel more comfortable when they express hostile feelings to North Americans.
Wrong: Latin Americans interpret North Americans’ attitude as hostile when they withdraw to make the
interaction distance greater.
d. North Americans’ interaction distance may be interpreted as very sociable by Latin Americans.
Wrong: it is interpreted as unfriendly.
e. North Americans often find Latin Americans’ attitude repulsive.
Right: “breathing down our necks,” “spraying our faces.”
Question 3 : différences culturelles
Everybody needs a “personal space” – an invisible area around them into which other people must not
intrude. The text shows that North Americans are more demanding about their personal space. They feel
threatened by Latin Americans who prefer a reduced interaction distance, allowing close contact. On the
other hand, Latin Americans feel rejected if the person they are talking to avoids this contact and stands
too great a distance away.
Question 4 : solutions utilisées
Some North Americans try to prevent their Latin American visitors from coming too close by using the
furniture in their offices (desks, chairs, typewriter tables) as barriers (barricading themselves, l. 7). But it
is useless – their visitors may even climb over these obstacles to reduce the distance between them.
Pour s’assurer que le terme interaction est bien clair pour les élèves (to interact with
somebody = to have an effect on each other), on fera d’abord relever dans le texte l’expression de la conséquence : the result is… (l. 3, l. 8), as a consequence… (l. 3), make
adaptations (l. 7), ainsi que l’opposition entre les termes move et withdraw, back away ; barricading et climb.
Certains de ces termes seront exploités dans l’intervention des élèves.
L’expression interaction style permet de « ratisser plus large » que simplement interaction distance. Pour aider
les élèves, on pourra suggérer aussi les termes facial expressions, eye contact, attitudes and postures, bodily
contact, touch, barrier gestures (movements of the hands and arms that accompany speech, for instance
different ways of crossing your arms). On peut y inclure également des styles de comportement liés à l’expression verbale : imiter plus ou moins consciemment l’accent ou le vocabulaire de l’interlocuteur, l’interrompre
pour finir ses phrases à sa place ou pour parler de soi-même, etc.
Favoriser l’interaction entre élèves pendant cette activité, plutôt qu’une suite d’interventions personnelles, cela
permet de vérifier leurs dires.
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Don’t sell thick diapers in Tokyo, p. 40
Introduction
Dans cet article du New York Times, la journaliste Alecia Swasy propose quelques anecdotes tirées de son ouvrage Soap Opera: The History of Procter & Gamble. Elle a sélectionné ici des exemples d’arrogance commerciale, mais son ouvrage dénonce également
des pratiques dangereuses ou illégales de la firme multinationale. Le document “Before
and After” de la page 41 concerne un autre géant commercial, Unilever, et montre comment la firme tente de s’adapter aussi à des normes de bienséance qu’elle n’avait pas
envisagées.
Objectifs
■ lexique
termes commerciaux (products, samples, labels, consumer, etc.),
réussite et échec
■ grammaire
comparatifs et superlatifs ; réflexion sur la langue :
verbes prépositionnels et à particule
■ communication
Everyday English – buying food abroad
expression de la conséquence
■ culture
proverbes liés à Rome
■ phonologie
incidence de l’accent de phrase sur le sens de l’énoncé
■ méthodologie
transfert des éléments d’un dialogue à une autre situation
Repères
culturels
Soap Opera by Alecia Swasy recounts a particularly bad period in the history of one
of America’s largest corporations, Procter & Gamble, in the 80s and early 90s. When
led by succeeding CEOs John Smale and Ed Artzt, the company ran afoul of
environmental laws, consumer safety, common sense, and basic human decency in
truly arrogant fashion. To read the story comprehensively laid out by Alecia Swasy
is to gape in astonishment at the true measure of human depravity in search of the
holy buck.
Does Swasy have it in for P&G? Yes, but so would you if you were a journalist and
your subject was breaking the law to trample on your rights while you tried to do
your job. Things got so out of hand as P&G launched telephone record
investigations and had ex-employees brought to Cincinnati police stations to
explain why they were talking to a reporter, that the ensuing coverage sparked a
national outcry. Pundits and cartoonists weighed in about the KGB tactics of people
who make laundry detergent and toothpaste. When finally brought to heel by
indignant shareholders, CEO Artzt shrugged and called it a mistake. “The only thing
he regretted,” Swasy writes, “was getting caught.”
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Pistes proposées
On s’intéressera d’abord aux éléments périphériques de l’article : on fera repérer l’origine, la date, le nom de
la journaliste, et l’illustration qui permet d’introduire le mot diapers, probablement inconnu des élèves. On
pourra notamment demander What piece of clothing do we usually associate with babies? ou What piece of
clothing would the babies in the illustration need most? On obtiendra sans doute la réponse sous forme de
nom propre (Pampers), on pourra répondre “Yes, of course, diapers are indispensable to babies”.
on your marks…
Question 1 : titre
The headline “DON’T sell…” contains an imperative, which suggests an order, a command. As it is in the
negative form, it suggests a ban on something, or at least a warning. It may evoke a danger or any sort of
risk, namely commercial risks in certain places, since it concerns a commercial product. So it can be
addressed to firms by someone who knows better about world trade.
get set…
Question 2 : proverbe d’introduction
The complete, original saying is “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”, which means that you have to adapt
yourself to the cultural habits of the place you are in, especially when it is a foreign country.
The French equivalent is “À Rome, fais comme les Romains”, which (for once in proverbs) is a word for
word translation.
On peut insérer ici l’Activity 12 (p. 45), qui fait réfléchir sur trois proverbes liés à la ville de Rome. Voir correction page 93.
Question 3 : sens du sous-titre
The subtitle is about the obligation (“must”) that firms have to respect cultural differences, especially the
differences between the cultures of Western and Eastern countries (“New York, Tokyo”) if they want to be
successful (“conquer markets”) on the international level (“overseas”).
go.…
On fera lire le premier paragraphe à la recherche :
– des expressions connotées positivement : (capitalism’s) darling, famous products, et négativement : failing,
miscues (dont on fera déduire le sens négatif à partir du préfixe mis-, comme dans mistake,
misunderstanding, misfortune, etc.) ;
– des expressions-clés : cultural arrogance et cross-cultural selling.
Question 4 : « leçon » de l’article
The lesson American companies can learn from the mistakes (miscues, l. 10) made by one of the most
successful of them (capitalism’s darlings, l. 5; famous products, l. 7) is that if you want to sell abroad
(cross-cultural selling, l. 10), you must take into account your foreign customers’ culture and not impose
your own standards (cultural arrogance, l. 15).
Le professeur demandera : “What allows the world to ‘turn into one big marketplace’, as mentioned in the
first sentence?”
Capitalism and free trade (a system of international trade in which there are no import restrictions like
quotas, import taxes, etc.) offer markets all over the world for big companies, especially powerful
multinational corporations.
Les élèves vont maintenant faire une activité de scanning : il s’agit de lire le texte à vitesse normale à la
recherche de noms propres, sans chercher vraiment à comprendre le détail du texte, ce qui fera l’objet de la
Question 6, après une lecture plus attentive et le rangement des informations dans un tableau.
Question 5 : la célèbre firme et ses produits
The firm is Procter & Gamble. The products mentioned are Tide, Crest, Cheer (detergent, washingpowder), Pampers (diapers), and Camay (soap).
Tide washing-powder used to be sold in France, but is not any longer. Pampers diapers and Camay soap
can be found in any supermarket. Crest and Cheer have never reached the French market.
83
Question 6 : mésaventures des produits Procter & Gamble
place
product
problem
solution
§2-4: Japan in the Pampers
late 1970s
diapers
too expensive and too bulky for
Japanese mothers who change
their babies’ diapers more than
twice as often as most Americans
§5: Eastern
Europe
detergent
– in Poland, foreign companies
– the labels were written in
must show both their will to fit in
imperfect Polish
and their inability to master the
local language
– Czech customers associate local – the labels were written in
English or German
language with poor quality
products
§6: Asia (Korea,
China…)
diapers
colour package betrays sex of
customer’s baby and embarrasses
parents of girls
the firm promoted white unisex
diapers
§7: Japan
– detergent
– comparative advertising
considered as rude
– Cheer
detergent
– the Japanese don’t use alltemperature detergents
– no solution mentioned, but
the advert was probably
withdrawn or modified
– no solution mentioned, but
the advert was probably
modified to focus on another
quality of the product
Camay toilet
soap
ad showing a man intruding in the
bathroom while his wife was
having a bath shocked the
Japanese
§8: Japan
as another firm took the
market, they admitted they
were wrong
no solution mentioned, but the
advert was probably withdrawn
or modified
Question 7 : succès et échec
On fera rechercher par quels moyens linguistiques le succès et l’échec ont été exprimés dans le texte :
success
Pampers (at first, the effort paid off, §3); detergent in Eastern Europe (proved a bit
smarter, §5); white unisex diapers (caught on to… §6);
failure
Pampers (we were out of the ballgame, §4); detergent (Bad move, §7); Cheer (the
company also fumbled, §7); Camay soap (put P & G in hot water, §8).
Question 8 : actualité du problème
These stories clearly illustrate what is announced in the first paragraph, i.e. cultural arrogance. Through
these examples, cultural arrogance can be defined as the lack of knowledge about cultural habits throughout
the world, or the decision to ignore them when they are different from the standards or norms in use in the
USA. Procter & Gamble has certainly learnt from the blunders / errors explained in the article, but other
firms may still make the same mistakes.
Le document “Before and After”, page 41, montre bien que l’arrogance culturelle telle qu’elle est définie ici
est toujours d’actualité. La campagne publicitaire pour le savon Lux de la firme Unilever date de 2004, et reproduit les mêmes erreurs. On pourra demander aux élèves de préparer le commentaire de ce document à la maison, et de ne garder que des mots-clés comme trace écrite, afin d’en faire une activité de production orale. On
insistera pour que les élèves réexploitent des termes de l’article du New York Times.
Réponse possible
In the ad entitled “Before and After” we see a TV star advertising Unilever’s Lux toilet soap.
The beautiful, smiling young lady is wearing a shiny evening dress which reveals her arms,
shoulders and back (and even a little thigh, according to the commentary). This ad was displayed on hoardings
in Israel, despite the fact that people in this country might be offended. When they caught on to the cultural norms
in Israel and understood that they had got themselves into hot water, Unilever executives were smart enough to
get the ad modified. Indeed, in the illustration entitled “After” we see the picture of a garment being added to
the star’s low-necked dress. The company executives even showed some humour when they said that the new
garment would be more adapted to the winter weather. Good move! We can imagine that their effort paid off.
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Activité complémentaire : réflexion sur la langue : verbes prépositionnels et à particule
Dans un premier temps, on proposera aux élèves de relever dans l’ordre du texte les verbes prépositionnels et
les verbes à particule.
verbes prépositionnels
turn into, deliver to, tie to, grow from… to…,
associate with, resort to, appeal to, fumble with,
impose on
verbes à particule
pay off, catch on (twice), fit in
Réflexion sur les verbes prépositionnels
• La préposition appartient-elle au groupe nominal ou au groupe verbal ? Si l’on doit faire une pause
dans l’énoncé, est-elle placée juste avant ou juste après la préposition ?
Chaque élève devra recopier trois énoncés du texte où figurent des verbes prépositionnels, souligner le
groupe auquel la préposition appartient, et marquer la pause par le signe //.
Exemple : These ads did not appeal // to the Japanese (l. 88) (groupe nominal souligné, la préposition est
posée en tête de ce groupe nominal > pré-position).
• Où se place la préposition dans une question sur le complément qu’elle introduit ?
L’élève passera à la forme interrogative les trois énoncés choisis pour la question précédente.
Exemple : Who didn’t these ads appeal to? (la préposition reste après le verbe).
• La préposition se prononce-t-elle toujours de la même façon ?
La préposition est prononcée sous sa forme réduite devant le groupe nominal (to [tE] the Japanese) et sous sa
forme pleine en fin de question (Who didn’t these ads appeal to [tu]) ?
Réflexion sur les verbes à particule
• Démontrez que la particule appartient au groupe verbal.
Trois énoncés comportent des verbes à particule intransitifs, la particule ne peut donc pas être associée au
groupe nominal :
– At first, the effort paid off (l. 29).
– A Japanese manufacturer caught on (l. 44).
– … foreign companies were trying to fit in (ll. 56-57).
• Le verbe à particule peut-il être aussi prépositionnel (c’est-à-dire suivi d’un groupe nominal prépositionnel) ?
On fera repérer et comparer les deux énoncés où figure le verbe catch on (ll. 44 et 65).
– A Japanese manufacturer caught on. Le verbe catch on forme un tout au niveau du sens, et la particule est
toujours prononcée avec sa forme pleine.
– Procter and Gamble caught on // to some cultural norms… Le verbe catch on est ici à la fois verbe à particule et verbe prépositionnel. La préposition to est réduite à [tə].
• Dans ce dernier cas, où se placeraient la particule et la préposition à la forme interrogative ?
À la forme interrogative, on aurait : What did Procter & Gamble catch on to?, la préposition to se prononcerait [tu].
• Le même terme peut-il être parfois une préposition et parfois une particule ?
Les trois particules mentionnées dans les exemples ci-dessus : paid off (l. 29), caught on (l. 44), fit in (l. 57)
peuvent aussi introduire des groupes nominaux (off the train, on page 9, in line 10, etc.).
On dirigera les élèves vers Grammar File 18 : verbes prépositionnels et à particule, pour retrouver des exemples
provenant d’autres textes, pour approfondir et fixer la réflexion, pour réviser le sens que les différentes particules
apportent aux verbes. On conseillera de mettre un post-it à cette page du Grammar File, dont les listes de verbes
prépositionnels et à particule fournies permettront d’éviter ou de corriger des erreurs.
On notera que, si le verbe à particule get off existe, dans la légende du cartoon illustrant cette fiche de grammaire, off est une préposition introduisant un groupe nominal : to get my sister // off the computer.
85
Everyday English – Buying food abroad, p. 41
Cette fiche Everyday English est censée présenter une « tranche de vie », un dialogue fictif mais possible entre
deux inconnues se rencontrant sur un marché.
ÉTAPE 1 : compréhension et repérages
On fera d’abord écouter le dialogue, livre fermés, et sans prise de notes, et l’on demandera aux élèves de
présenter la situation :
The scene takes place in Africa. “A” is a female tourist travelling with an eighteen-month-old baby. She is
looking for food for her baby and doesn’t know where to find it. So she talks to an African lady, “B” to get
the information.
On notera le choc culturel mentionné :
The African lady does not understand what the tourist is looking for, because, according to her, African
mothers breast-feed their little ones as long as possible, and then have them share the family food.
On fera expliquer quelle solution est proposée :
The African lady invites the tourist and her baby to share some food at her place with her family.
On procédera à une nouvelle écoute, avec prise de notes, les élèves devant repérer des expressions typiques de
l’échange oral : une prise de contact (Excuse me), des gap-fillers (well, oh dear, you see, let me think, er, oh), des
questions (Do you speak English? What can I do for you ? Do you know where…?, etc.), une formule d’invitation
(Why not just come to my place...?) et la formulation de remerciements (Oh, that’s so nice of you! Thank you so
much!).
ÉTAPE 2 : pair-work pour s’entraîner à reproduire le dialogue
En s’appuyant si nécessaire sur leurs notes, les élèves seront invités à reproduire le dialogue, après l’avoir réécouté. Si l’on est en présence d’une classe facilement bloquée en production orale, on procédera d’abord à une
répétition phrase par phrase du dialogue, livres ouverts, après distribution des rôles A et B.
ÉTAPE 3 : vers une production plus personnelle
On invitera les élèves à trouver des situations de transfert pour le dialogue, que l’on adaptera, tout en gardant
le contexte de « choc culturel » si possible. Les binômes d’élèves prépareront leur dialogue et les volontaires
pourront le jouer devant leurs camarades (exemple : un Français voyage aux États-Unis et demande des escargots dans un restaurant).
First morning at school, p. 42
Introduction
Les coutumes spécifiques à telle population, tel groupe social ou religieux peuvent aussi
nous surprendre ou nous choquer. À propos de l’idée d’anniversaire, on pourra faire un
lien avec la notion d’« arrogance culturelle » rencontrée dans le texte “Don’t sell thick
diapers in Tokyo”. Ici l’arrogance consiste à tenir pour évident que, dans toutes les
cultures, l’anniversaire est un moment important que l’on fête.
Pour ce qui concerne les coutumes susceptibles de nous choquer, à la suite d’un sondage
auprès d’une cinquantaine d’enseignants, que nous tenons à remercier ici, nous avons
décidé de supprimer du texte original un petit passage (ci-dessous, en gras), relatif à
l’excision, afin que le professeur soit seul juge du bien-fondé de l’étude de ce problème
dans telle ou telle classe.
“What are more important in our society,” Abel Gichuru explained, “are the
circumcision ceremonies. After a harvest, the boys and girls who are inititated are
given a general name according to some big event that has taken place at the time
and that gives us a rough idea of the date of the ceremony.”
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“What kind of names?” Billy asked.
“Names like ‘Forest Fire’ or ‘Golden Harvest’ or ‘Much Rain’.”
“Next time,” Billy said, “I shall ask you to write about that. I suppose you do
remember the date of that?”
“Naturally,” Abel replied. “It is a year we can never forget for it is the date when we
become men and the girls become women.”
Billy was aghast. “Did I hear you right? Circumcision of girls?”
“But of course,” Abel said. “How else could they find husbands?”
Billy’s first dramatic morning at school ended on that note and he felt that somehow
he had learned more than he had taught, received more than he had given.
Objectifs
■ lexique
activités scolaires, fêtes, événements naturels ;
polysémie de dramatic
■ grammaire
prépositions
■ communication
faire passer le texte narratif à une forme dialoguée
■ culture
histoire des Kikuyus (renvoi à la page 57 du manuel) ; importance
relative des dates et des rites en Europe et en Afrique
■ citoyenneté
doit-on respecter ou combattre les traditions culturelles qui
nous choquent ?
■ méthodologie
règles pour choisir le lexique en anglais (texte, ll. 29-32)
Repères
culturels
• Billy Hopkins (voir biographie, p. 150 du manuel)
• The Kikuyus (or Gikuyus) are a Bantu population of over three million people
from the high territories of Kenya. History of the Kikuyu tribes: see maps and
dates on page 57.
Pistes proposées
Avant de faire ouvrir les manuels, le professeur écrira le titre de l’extrait au tableau (ou le rétroprojettera) et
posera la Question 1, dont les réponses pourront être relativement variées, mais tendront vers deux directions :
a. retrouver des habitudes et des gens que l’on connaît ; b. se trouver confronté à de nouvelles règles dans un
nouveau cadre et faire connaissance avec des inconnus. Il est probable que les élèves demanderont à leur professeur de donner lui aussi une réponse à la question Do you think teachers may share the same expectations?
En profiter pour dialoguer avec eux.
on your marks…
Question 1 : contexte scolaire
Réponse possible
a. When I go back to school after the summer holidays, I am excited at the idea of seeing once again the
friends I had last year and the teachers I liked. I know that there will be a few new students in my form,
and I look forward to getting to know them. On the first morning, I will also learn the names of my
teachers for the new school-year, and I hope that my favourite teachers will be among them.
b. If I attend a new school, I expect to be surprised by rules and routines that were not in use in my previous
school. I will have to get to know everybody – teachers, staff, students – and I hope that I will soon feel
at ease with them.
It is highly probable that teachers share the same expectations...
Livres toujours fermés, on peut maintenant soit faire écouter l’enregistrement de la première phrase, soit rétroprojeter la première phrase.
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get set…
Question 2 : situation
At the beginning of a new school-year, a teacher called Billy is in charge of a group of students that he
doesn’t know. Before starting new lessons (“before he could get down to teaching”) he wants to assess
(“have some idea of”) the level of written English of his students. So, his students may either belong to a
class with a bad academic reputation, or study English as a foreign language.
Ouvrir les manuels seulement maintenant permet d’utiliser les illustrations comme anticipation de la Question 3.
From the illustrations, can you imagine where the scene takes place?
On laissera décrire les images et arriver à la conclusion que la scène se passe dans un pays d’Afrique relativement verdoyant. On notera les propositions des élèves et on lira le texte rapidement à la recherche d’indices.
Le nom Kenya ne figurant pas dans cet extrait, on ne peut s’appuyer que sur Kikuyu (l. 4, l. 22) et African tribes
(l. 37). On prendra connaissance des informations proposées dans les cartes et le tableau historique de la page 57
pour bien situer le contexte, avant de répondre à la Question 3.
Question 3 : lieu
The picture on page 43 shows a group of young girls who must be from Africa. The illustration on page 42
shows a village with straw huts, located in a rather green environment, probably on the high plateaux of
Eastern Africa. From the name of the tribe mentioned, the Kikuyus, we are informed that the scene takes
place in Kenya. All the students must be Kenyans, but some of them may not be Kikuyus, as they do not all
react the same way when the teacher says “you must know how old you are” (l. 35): some students agree
with the teacher (There was a murmur of agreement from the form, l. 36) whereas a Kikuyu says “the date
of birth is not important” (l. 37).
Question 4 : notion d’anniversaire
Cette question vise à faire dégager le plan (très simple) du texte. On n’entrera pas dans le détail, qui fera l’objet
des Questions 5 à 10.
As the teacher wants to assess his new students’ level of written English, he asks them to write a short essay.
As it is not the content of the essay that is important (The subject doesn’t matter, l. 5), but the quality of the
language, the teacher proposes what he thinks is a very easy, commonplace theme: “your birthday,”
because he supposes that everybody can find something to say about their birthdays. So, the first part of
the text (l. 1-32) concerns the essays about the students’ birthdays, while in the second part of the story
(l. 34-59), it is the importance of dates in our lives that is focused upon. The turning point is the teacher’s
question “Exactly when were you born?” (l. 33).
go.…
Question 5 : réactions au sujet proposé
Obviously, the students do not find the theme of the written test very interesting / stimulating (One or two
in the class pursed their lips and shook their heads. The others did not look happy either, l. 6). One of them,
Makombe, tries to resist (We can’t do that, sir, l. 8) and even to protest (But..., but..., l. 11), but to no avail.
First of all, the teacher interprets the students’ resistance as the fear of having tests marked on the first day
of school and he tells them there is nothing to worry about (It’s not a final test..., l. 9). As this doesn’t put
their minds at rest, Billy shows that he is the one who is in charge and he stops the rebellion (Don’t argue.
Just do it, l. 12).
Question 6 : rédactions d’Abel et Moses
• As for the contents of the essays, Abel Makombe focuses on the birthday present he has received (the
glorious gift of a bicycle, l. 18), while Moses Kanyuki only speaks of the festivities and the people present
(convocation of the entire village..., the elders..., ll. 23-24).
• Concerning the style, what strikes us in both essays is the pompous language they have used, with long,
rare or apparently complicated words. But, as the words they use are of Greek and Latin origin, like many
words in French, it is fairly easy to understand their meaning (if they are transparent words) or to infer it
(circumambulate = to walk around / about is made up of the Latin prefix circum = round and the Latin
radical ambulare, which means “walk” that we find in the French verb “déambuler”). It is the same thing
for confabulate (con comes from the Latin prefix cum and fabulate from the Latin radical fabula = tale).
Etc.
Question 7 : appréciation du professeur
The teacher is impressed by the richness and precision of the boys’ vocabulary. He says to Abel: “a good
opening,” “a good effort” (l. 20) and to Moses “Quite good,” “You have a way with words” (l. 29). It is as
if Moses had “swallowed” an English dictionary (the O.E.D.) and a dictionary of synonyms (Roget’s
Thesaurus).
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And yet, Billy thinks that their style is too pompous, but he does not use offensive words which could upset
his students. Diplomatically, he says to Abel: “A little flowery and ornate, perhaps” (l. 20); he starts with
a compliment to Moses, so as to soften the impact of the reproach that follows: “The trouble is: not
everyone will understand them” (l. 30). Nevertheless, he uses the word “verbosity” (a pompous word, in
his turn) which may sound negative.
Question 8 : choc culturel
Time is not measured the same way in African tribes as it is in the western world (We measure time by the
seasons or by some natural event, l. 40). Dates have much less importance in African culture than in ours,
where every event must be pinpointed on a time axis with great accuracy and precision. Billy can’t imagine
that his pupil doesn’t know when he was born (You must know how old you are, l. 35). He has a humorous
reaction: he evokes the difficulties that would arise if ever the country got the Welfare State and its
irritating “red tape”, which give so much importance to the dates of both major and minor events.
Question 9 : contradiction
In line 34, Moses says that he doesn’t know when he was born. And yet, he wrote an essay about the
celebration of his birthday, as if it had really occurred. So did Abel Makombe and the other Kikuyus like
Abel Gichuru, because the teacher had forced them to do so (Don’t argue. Just do it, l. 12), and had ignored
their reactions (pursed their lips and shook their heads, l. 6) and their protests. So the contents of their
essays are totally fictitious.
Avant d’aborder la Question 10, qui renvoie à la dernière phrase du texte, on s’assurera que les élèves comprennent le sens du mot dramatic. On proposera :
Which of the meanings of “dramatic” may apply to the events of this first morning at school?
a. theatrical, b. sudden and remarkable, c. exciting or impressive, d. exaggerated for special effect.
It is meaning c. that applies to this morning: Billy is excited at the idea of encountering a new culture,
embodied by his pupils, and he is impressed by all the new things he has learnt from them.
Question 10 : bilan
The pupils have learnt that using rare, sophisticated words does not make their English any better and may
prevent them from being fully understood. Now they know that they should use simpler words instead.
Billy’s conclusion about this dramatic morning is that he has learnt more than he has taught, especially
about his students’ culture (their love for beautiful formal English words, their traditions concerning their
birthdays and the circumcision ceremonies).
L’Activity 4 (p. 44) propose aux élèves à la fois un résumé de ce texte qui les aidera à le mémoriser et une application de la réflexion grammaticale sur les verbes prépositionnels proposée à la suite du texte “Don’t sell thick
diapers in Tokyo”. Voir le corrigé page 91.
Billy
Laura
Billy
Laura
Billy
Laura
Billy
Laura
Billy
Laura
Billy
Laura
Billy
Laura
Possible dialogue between Billy and his wife
Thank you for all these presents, darling. How did you manage to buy presents in a place that you
don’t know at all?
I brought them from home, of course. I knew your birthday would be here just after we arrived.
Well, it’s really nice of you. Speaking of birthdays, I made an incredible blunder this morning.
Really? Tell me about it!
I wanted to check how well they manage in English, so I asked them to write a short essay.
Good idea! What about?
As it was my birthday, the subject was easy to find. But the students seemed to be reluctant.
How come? It seems a nice, easy subject to me.
The fact is that the students from the Kikuyu tribes don’t know when they were born. Their birthday
has little importance and is not celebrated.
Oh, isn’t it? How strange! What did they write about then?
About their birthdays, as they had been asked, but they invented stories instead of evoking memories.
But how can the authorities in this country deal with a part of the population who have no birthdays?
This doesn’t seem to bother them. Nor the young people, whose reference is not the date of their birth
but of the ceremonies of their circumcision.
We really are a long way from home, aren’t we, Billy?
Shocking traditions
On laissera les élèves trouver et exprimer leurs exemples personnels (par exemple, les épreuves que doivent
passer les garçons de certaines tribus pour accéder au rang d’adulte, comme être allongés sur des fourmilières ;
l’obligation qu’ont les vieillards d’autres tribus de grimper en haut d’un cocotier, pour mesurer leur vigueur,
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au risque de se tuer s’ils tombent ; les rites incluant la marche sur des braises, les combats d’animaux, l’interdiction pour les femmes de pénétrer sur le mont Athos, en Grèce, etc.). Il pourra y avoir débat sur le bien-fondé
de chercher à faire disparaître des coutumes ancestrales, qui sont des témoignages culturels, au nom de la survie ou du respect de la personne humaine. Le professeur jugera si la maturité de ses élèves le permet. On pourrait aussi envisager un travail interdisciplinaire avec le professeur de philosophie.
Si les conditions de la classe le permettent, c’est maintenant que l’on pourra étudier le petit passage sur l’excision présenté dans l’introduction. Il ne s’agit évidemment pas de parler de la circoncision des garçons, qui est
un rite religieux et à ce titre n’a pas à être remis en question à l’école. Il s’agit de la « circoncision » des filles,
qui n’est qu’une coutume sociale. Billy n’en croit pas ses oreilles, il n’imaginait pas que cela existait encore
(Billy was aghast. “Did I hear you right? Circumcision of girls?”). On notera la réponse laconique d’Abel
Gichuru, qui prouve que ces jeunes femmes ont encore bien du chemin à faire vers leur émancipation : “But of
course,” Abel said. “How else could they find husbands?”
Voici quelques informations, tirées de l’excellent article “The Last Rites” paru dans TIME magazine le
3 décembre 2001, qui mérite d’être lu intégralement :
For centuries women have suffered in traditional African circumcision rituals. In some tribes you
cannot become a mature woman unless you have come through the ritual. Now women’s
movements are trying to stop these dangerous ceremonies.
Massita, 61, takes a piece of old cloth from her battered white purse, unfolds it and gingerly lays out
seven miniature knives. Massita picks up one knife and explains how it is used to remove the clitorises
of young women. Her mother did the same job before her, she says. And her grandmother. “These are
the very knives they used.”
The World Health Organization estimates more than 100 million women worldwide have been
circumcised. The practice, now commonly called female genital mutilation (FGM) is most widespread
in sub-Saharan Africa and in Islamic populations of the continent’s west. It is also found in Christian
countries like Ethiopia and Kenya. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s Christian, Muslim or whatever,” says
a Kenyan MP, “it is cultural and commonplace.” Some elders continue to encourage circumcision
because the custom provides an important social and economic role. Families in the Sabaot tribe of
Kenya, for instance, receive cows upon the circumcision of their first girl. And alternative ceremonies
can cause problems of their own. Julie Maranya, coordinator of a Kenyan anti-FGM group, says that
“because young girls are now being taught sex education as part of their alternative initiation, they think
they are now free to engage in pre-marital sex. That’s why we have made many tiny mothers.”
None of Massita’s daughters has shown an interest in taking up the family trade. When she dies, she
says, she will have her knives buried with her.
Practice makes perfect, pp. 44-45
Words
Activity 1, key words
A. Using each word or expression only once, find in the list:
1. six words indicating personal or collective ways of living: customs, habits, lifestyle, manners, mores,
traditions.
2. three synonyms of strange: odd, peculiar, queer.
On en profitera pour rappeler ceux qui auront été utilisés dans la réponse à la question 2 page 36 du
manuel (bizarre, weird).
3. two synonyms of local: indigenous, native.
4. several words linked with travelling: abroad, be bound for, foreigner, homesickness, journey, overseas.
On peut proposer ici une activité de recherche lexicale (brainstorming) afin d’enrichir la liste ; par
exemple : booking, cancellation, check in / out, mass tourism, beaten tracks, exoticism, well-travelled, etc.
On fera chercher la définition du terme anglais voyage, pour en prévenir toute utilisation abusive : A
voyage is a travel by boat.
B. Find the missing word:
1. A stranger is a person I do not know.
2. A foreigner is a person from another country.
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Activity
2, key words
Fill in the chart with words from the list indicating attitudes:
positive meaning
negative meaning
adjectives
easy-going, open-minded
prejudiced, rude, uncouth, reluctant
verbs
cope with, support, rely on, behave oneself
interfere, scorn
nouns
confidence, support
contempt, distrust, scorn
On pourra également :
– faire repérer des synonymes : scorn, contempt, et chercher leur contraire : respect.
– faire relever les faux-amis : prejudiced, rude, support, confidence.
– noter que les termes scorn et support peuvent être des verbes ou des noms.
– faire chercher les adjectifs dérivés de la liste de noms : confident, trustful, supportive, contemptuous,
distrustful, scornful.
– faire chercher des contraires :
confidence, trust // mistrust, distrust
easy-going // intolerant, fussy
open-minded // prejudiced
rude, uncouth // well-educated
cope with... // mishandle
contempt, scorn // admiration
Grammar
Activity
3, comparatives and superlatives
A. Procter and Gamble is one of the largest and most flourishing multinationals. And yet, though its
“Pampers” are more famous than any other diapers, they proved less easy to sell in Japan than the
“Moony” diapers which were less thick, less expensive and more adapted to local needs. In fact,
Japanese mothers need thinner diapers because they change babies twice as often as American mothers.
The less respectful of foreign cultures firms are, the more precarious the success of their products will
be. At Procter & Gamble’s, marketing is becoming (smarter and) smarter, and (less and) less arrogant,
so as to be (more and) more competitive and conquer (larger and) larger markets overseas.
B. Procter & Gamble figure parmi les mutinationales les plus importantes et les plus florissantes. Pourtant,
ses « Pampers », bien que plus connues que les autres couches (-culottes), ont été plus difficiles à vendre
au Japon que les couches de la marque « Moony », moins épaisses, moins chères et mieux adaptées aux
besoins locaux. En fait, les mères japonaises ont besoin de couches plus minces parce qu’elles changent
leurs bébés deux fois plus souvent que les mères américaines. Moins une entreprise respecte la culture
étrangère, plus elle prend de risques pour ses produits. Chez Procter & Gamble, le marketing devient (de
plus en) plus intelligent / malin, (de moins en) moins arrogant, afin de gagner en compétitivité et de
conquérir un maximum de marchés à l’étranger.
Activity
4, prepositions
When he applied for a job in Kenya, Billy did not know what lessons he would learn from his African students.
He had never heard of / about Kikuyus before, and he soon reproached himself with / for not having studied
their rituals before their first meeting. He felt responsible for the misunderstanding about / in the essays he
had asked his students to write. Their reaction should have prevented the teacher from choosing an unfamiliar
topic, like birthdays. But, instead of listening to them, he nearly accused them of refusing to work. After
commenting on their attitude, he told them not to worry about the difficulty of the essay. When they explained
that their culture does not focus on dates, Billy was ashamed of his own behaviour.
Activity
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
5, compound adjectives
I had never seen 300-foot-high towers!
I had never been on a three-hour visit!
I had never seen horse-drawn carriages!
I had never met a one-legged man!
I had never heard so many four-letter words!
I had never heard such a heart-breaking story!
Activity
6, V or be + ing?
A. 1. What are you doing for Christmas? I’m flying to Mexico. Be careful with Latin Americans, then. I
remember that they always try / are always trying to shorten the “interaction distance” between you
and them and embarrass / embarrassing you with their friendliness.
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2. As she was visiting London, Dyan’s mother met two strange-looking guys who, she believed, could
not be British – they were eating chocolate chip cookies and drinking milk-shakes.
B. A1. Dyan’s mother is always trying to buy bananas, Dyan asks her to give up that stupid idea.
A2. Dyan explains to her mother that she will have to stop on her way in order to buy bananas.
B1. Dyan says that the fact that her mother eats pizza from time to time doesn’t mean that she is Italian.
B2. Dyan tells her mother that though she is eating pizza at the moment, she is not Italian.
Communication
Activity
7, reported speech
1. Dyan advised her mother to stop trying to buy bananas.
2. Her mother feared that the British didn’t have cars as people did in America / as Americans did.
Indiquer aux élèves que l’usage informel que les Américains font de la préposition like comme conjonction, à
la place de as est encore considéré comme une faute de grammaire par beaucoup d’anglophones et ne doit pas
être imité. Le titre du texte de référence, en bon anglais, serait “England is not exactly as I pictured it”.
3. She wondered if the British also had toilets.
4. Dyan ordered her mother to give her a break.
Activity
8, expressing consequences
Réponses possibles
1. The big American firm ignored its foreign customers’ cultural habits. As a result, the customers chose
local products which were more adapted to their needs.
2. In Poland, they wrote the detergent labels in imperfect Polish. As a consequence, people believed that
they were not yet fluent.
3. The notion of “birthday” was not important for Billy’s students. That’s why they were reluctant to write
about their birthdays.
4. He told them not to worry about their first written test, so they all began writing.
5. Dyan’s mother had a stereotyped view of Britain, therefore she was extremely worried about visiting her
daughter in London.
6. Mrs Lovell stayed in London during the war; this resulted in a totally stereotyped and outmoded image
of England / hence her outmoded image of England.
Activity
9, expressing advice
Réponses possibles
On suggérera aux élèves de s’inspirer également des expressions figurant dans le dialogue de la rubrique
Everyday English – Safety tips for a blind date (p. 83).
1. If you can’t afford luxury clothes, why not buy them second-hand or simply hire them?
2. You ought to ask them about their family traditions for Christmas. / It would be wise to buy a warmer
anorak.
3. You should find a summer job, or give private tuition, but I don’t advise you to rely on your luck in the
lottery!
4. I suggest you buy your second-hand car at a garage you know well and ask them to check every part
carefully before going on such a trip!
5. If I were you, I’d meet members of the staff today and ask them about the school rules and the students’
habits.
Sounds OK
Activity
10, transparent words
A. Tous les termes proposés contiennent le son-voyelle [ə] dans la dernière syllabe.
B. Le son-voyelle [ə] ne pouvant jamais figurer dans une syllabe accentuée, aucun des termes proposés
n’est accentué sur la dernière syllabe.
Activity
1.
2.
3.
4.
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11, sentence stress
Don’t sell thick diapers in Tokyo! (Sell thick pants instead!)
Don’t sell thick diapers in Tokyo! (The Japanese only buy thin ones.)
Don’t sell thick diapers in Tokyo! (But why not give some to maternity wards?)
Don’t sell thick diapers in Tokyo! (The Japanese are too particular about diapers.)
General knowledge
Activity
12, proverbs
1. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
2. Rome was not built in a day (équivalent : Paris ne s’est pas fait en un jour).
3. All roads lead to Rome (calque : Tous les chemins mènent à Rome).
Activity
13, places and customs
1. In the countries of Northern Europe, it is not unusual for people to have smoked fish for breakfast.
2. Chopsticks are a pair of thin sticks used to eat food with, especially in China and the Far East.
3. It is also in China, and North and South Korea, that dog meat is considered as a delicacy and sold on
the market-place.
4. In India, dead bodies are ceremonially burnt on funeral pyres in public.
5. In the countries of North Africa and the Middle East, burping at the end of the meal is considered as a
compliment for your host. It means that you have had plenty of good food and are not hungry any more.
Expression
Activity
14, cultural habits
Pas de corrigé possible, on laissera les élèves s’exprimer, en veillant à ce qu’ils exploitent les acquis de
l’unité, notamment le lexique des styles de vie, des goûts, des attitudes de la liste des key words (p. 36), et des
Activities 1 et 2 (p. 44). On pourra soit enchaîner l’Activity 14 à l’Activity 13 pour entraîner les élèves à la spontanéité à l’oral, soit leur demander de préparer à la maison une intervention de deux minutes en continu sur le
sujet, qu’il feront en classe en suivant simplement la trace écrite de quelques mots-clés.
“England is not exactly like I pictured it”, p. 46
Le sujet de bac qui figure dans le manuel a été préparé pour les classes littéraires.
Barème
Compréhension : 70 points + expression : 70 points = 140 points, ramenés à 14 points.
Traduction : 60 points, ramenés à 6 points.
On trouvera plus loin une adaptation des questions pour les classes de ES-S (p. 96) et les sections technologiques (p. 98).
Corrigé de l’épreuve simulée de Bac, section L
COMPREHENSION
1. The text can be divided into three parts. Specify them and give a title for each. 8 points
Possible titles for the three parts:
– ll. 1-10: Conversation on the phone between a mother in the USA and her daughter in Britain.
– ll. 11-25: What Britain represents for Americans.
– ll. 26-47: The discovery of Britain by the American mother.
2. Where exactly does the scene take place? Where does each of these characters live: the narrator, Mrs
Lovell? 8 points
The scene takes place in London: “Mom, you’re coming to London” (l. 10) indicates that the narrator lives
in London. The person called Mom by the narrator most probably lives in the USA, which explains the
narrator’s reflection about the relationship between Americans and Great Britain in the second part of the
text.
Mrs Lovell is a neighbour of Mom’s in America (Mrs Lovell at the church, l. 4).
3. Pick out all the place names associated with: 9 points
a. the USA: New Jersey (l. 21), Nebraska (l. 22), Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, Minnesota (l. 24), the lower
East Side (l. 42).
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b. the British Isles: England (l. 6), Britain (l. 11), Glasgow (l. 14), Ireland (l. 14), Chiswick (l. 15), London
(l. 19), Brent Cross (l. 29).
Katmandu (l. 10) is located neither in Britain nor in America: it is the capital of Nepal. It is mentioned
as an example of a place where the mother would be more disoriented than in London.
4. What three points is “Mom” enquiring about? Why? 7 points
Mom wonders if the British have cars (But they don’t have cars like we do, do they?, l. 1), modern toilets
(And what about the toilets?, l. 4) and edible food (Should I bring some with me?, l. 8). A certain Mrs Lovell
that she meets at church, told her about Great Britain, mentioning problems that the British had concerning
these three points.
5. When did Mrs Lovell stay in London? What effect does it have on her view of England? 4 points
Mrs Lovell stayed in Great Britain during the Second World War, that’s why what she says about the country
does not correspond to the present situation.
6. What or who do the underlined words stand for? Justify by quoting from the text. 7 points
a. “But they (= the British) don’t have cars like we do” (l. 1) (the speaker is Mom, who is American).
b. “for many of us (= Americans)” (l. 11) (the speaker is the narrator, who is an American living in London).
c. “they come here” (l. 15) (the narrator is speaking of typical American students, a group to which she
does not belong).
d. “That (= the fruit shortage) was during the war” (l. 33) (There’s no longer a fruit shortage, l. 32).
e. “We (= British people and residents) are no longer restricted to root vegetables” (l. 34) (in Great Britain,
l. 33).
f. “They’re (= the two handsome young men) not Puerto Rican” (l. 39).
g. “we (= you and I) are in London” (l. 41) (I had taken my mother to Brent Cross, l. 29).
7. Why is Britain “both foreign and familiar” to Americans? Why do some Americans settle there?
(30 words) 7 points
What is foreign is cooking (l. 13), medieval ruins (l. 21), old castles (l. 22).
What is familiar is language (l. 12), ideas about literature and culture (l. 12), place names (l. 15).
Some Americans want to settle in England because of the common language and culture, because its past is
visible and because their roots are there; others have settled in England just because they didn’t want to go
on living in America.
8. Which of these adjectives apply to the mother: anxious, obstinate, pleasant, prejudiced? Justify by quoting
the text. 7 points
– anxious: the mother shows her anxiety through the questions she asks her daughter before going to
England.
– obstinate: she proves particularly obstinate when she insists on buying bananas.
– prejudiced: what she says about the British way of life (cars, toilets, food) as well as her certainty that the
two young men are Puerto Rican indicate that she is prejudiced.
With these characteristics, she can’t be called a pleasant person.
9. What is the narrator’s attitude to her mother? Pick out four expressions showing this. 8 points
Choix de quatre citations à faire parmi les suivantes :
The narrator pretends to be fairly patient with her exasperating / annoying mother (not as patiently as I
had the first few dozen times I’d said this, l. 31), but she hates it when Mom uses stereotypes (What are you
talking about, Mom?, l. 2; for Pete’s sake, l. 6); she sometimes behaves like a teacher (That was during the
war, l. 33; Those guys are not Puerto Rican, l. 42; You eat pizza and you are not Italian, l. 44; I corrected,
l. 47); she has a sense of humour (Mom, you’re coming to London, not trekking through Katmandu, l. 10;
she had travelled thousands of miles in order to go to a shopping centre, l. 29) and she is exasperated / fed
up (Give me a break, will you, Mom?, l. 44).
10. What difference is there between Britain and England? 5 points
Great Britain is the name given to the largest island of the British Isles. It is composed of three countries:
England, Scotland and Wales. So, England is only a part of Britain.
EXPRESSION
70 points
Exemple de réponses
11. Imagine you have the opportunity to go and live in a foreign country. Which would you choose? Why?
(100 words)
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If I could live in a foreign country, I would probably choose a sunny place like an island in the Caribbean
Sea, with all the opportunities it gives to live a healthy outdoor life and (to) meet all sorts of people. Indeed,
people seem friendlier and more open-minded in the sun; it seems easier to make friends and share
activities with them when the climate is mild and warm. It is not the life in luxury hotels advertised in
magazines that attracts me there; I would even prefer to be poor in a gorgeous country than rich in a
gloomy place where people look sad or preoccupied all the time. (108 words)
12. Choose one of the following subjects. (200 words)
A. Do you think modern life can contribute to eradicating stereotypes and making people less prejudiced
about other peoples and cultures?
Modern life offers many possibilities to get to know people from other countries and cultures.
Air travel allows you to go and visit places overseas; people who can afford it can now make friends
everywhere, understand their customs and way of life better, especially if they stay in a family, buy food in
local markets, take buses or hitch-hike.
You can also watch television programmes. You may even get to know more about a country through a
special TV report which will show you all the aspects of everyday life than when you belong to a group of
tourists with a local guide who will show you only the attractive aspects of the place. It is nowadays easier
to watch films from foreign countries with their original soundtrack, which also allows you to hear foreign
languages like Hindi, Chinese...
The Internet is also a simple way to travel without leaving your home. Through key words, for instance, Zulu
festivities or Inuit food, you can get to know a lot about people and their culture. Of course, it will never
replace direct contact and observation, but knowing that not all people share your traditions and lifestyle is
likely to make you less arrogant and more open-minded. (203 words)
B. The narrator phones her sister to tell her about their mother’s visit. Imagine their conversation.
Dyan
Hello, Shirley, this is Dyan. I wanted to know if Mom had a safe journey back.
Shirley Oh, hi, Dyan! Yes, the flight was OK but she’s having a rest in her room.
Dyan
Did she tell you about her stay here?
Shirley According to her, it rained all the time, so you had to find shelter in restaurants or shopping centres.
Dyan
Of course, there were a few showers, as usual, but she also wanted to go to supermarkets to make sure
she could find enough food. Especially bananas. She was convinced that we still had restrictions here.
Shirley I know. Isn’t it funny?
Dyan
She was also anxious about hygiene. She believed the British still had out-houses instead of toilets.
Shirley That’s so typical of Mom!
Dyan
In fact, she was so prejudiced about life in Britain that I had to spend most of my time and my
energy showing her that things have evolved since the war.
Shirley The trouble is that she had a word with Mrs Lovell, because she knew that she had spent some time
in Britain, and she believed everything Mrs Lovell told her.
Dyan
Well, mercifully, the country she was talking about / describing has finally come through the war
and become a modern state! (203 words)
TRANSLATION
13. 10 points
a. The oldest castle in Nebraska is only seventy years old. 2 points
b. Her mother spends most of her time looking for bananas. 2 points
c. She was born in New York, but she has been living in London for ten years (now). 3 points
14. 50 points
Les Américains viennent en Grande-Bretagne, parce que pour beaucoup d’entre nous, c’est encore la mèrepatrie. La Grande-Bretagne nous a donné notre langue, beaucoup de nos idées sur la littérature et la culture,
nos pères fondateurs et nos premiers présidents ; et, par bonheur / fort heureusement, peu de nos concepts
culinaires. Les Américains viennent en Grande-Bretagne parce que leurs grands-parents étaient originaires
de Glasgow, que leurs arrière-grands-parents avaient fui la famine en Irlande, ou qu’ils ont une aïeule maternelle née à Chiswick. Ils viennent ici parce qu’ils reconnaissent les noms de lieux et peuvent lire les menus.
Parce que tout est à la fois étrange et familier.
95
Sujet d’épreuve simulée de Bac adapté aux sections ES-S
Le format et le niveau de difficulté du texte sont également adaptés aux sections ES-S, ainsi que plusieurs des
questions proposées pour le Bac L, dont on trouvera le corrigé ci-dessus.
COMPREHENSION
1. The text can be divided into three parts. Identify them and give a title for each.
2. Where exactly does the scene take place? Where does each of these characters live: the narrator, her mother,
Mrs Lovell?
3. What three points is “Mom” enquiring about? Why?
4. When did Mrs Lovell stay in London? What effect does it have on her view of England?
5. What or who do the underlined words stand for? Justify by quoting from the text.
a. “But they don’t have cars like we do” (l. 1)
b. “they come here” (l. 15)
c. “That was during the war” (l. 33)
d. “We are no longer restricted to root vegetables” (l. 34)
e. “They’re not Puerto Ricans” (l. 39)
f. “we are in London” (l. 41)
6. Right or wrong? Justify by rephrasing the text. Indicate the lines of reference.
a. Dyan is of American origin.
b. Mrs Lovell is Mom’s closest neighbour.
c. The narrator had never heard of Mrs Lovell before.
d. Mom is enthusiastic at the idea of discovering Britain.
e. Mom is obstinate.
f. The narrator is more and more patient with her mother.
g. The narrator sometimes behaves like a teacher.
h. Mom is disappointed by what she sees in England.
7. Why is Britain “both foreign and familiar” to Americans? Why do some Americans settle there? (30 words)
8. Translate from “Coming from a country...” (l. 17) to “... like that in America.” (l. 20)
EXPRESSION
9. Imagine you have the opportunity to go and live in a foreign country. Which would you choose? Why?
(100 words)
10. Choose one of the following subjects. (200 words)
A. Do you think modern life can contribute to eradicating stereotypes and making people less prejudiced
about other peoples and cultures?
B. The narrator phones her sister to tell her about their mother’s visit. Imagine their conversation.
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Corrigé de l’épreuve simulée de Bac, sections ES-S
Barème
Compréhension : 100 points, ramenés à 10 points + expression : 100 points, ramenés à 10 points.
Voici notre proposition, suivie du corrigé des questions différentes.
Corrigé des questions différentes
6. Right or wrong? Justify by rephrasing the text. Indicate the lines of reference. 24 points
a. Right: she says “us” when she speaks of Americans (l. 11).
b. Wrong: she knows her because they attend the same church (l. 4).
c. Wrong: she knows that Mrs Lovell was in England during the war (l. 6).
d. Wrong: she is anxious, especially about cars, toilets and food (ll. 1, 4, 8).
e. Right: she insists on buying bananas (l. 26); she decides that the young men sitting a few tables away
are Puerto Rican (ll. 35, 40, 43).
f. Wrong: she is less and less patient because she has to repeat the same thing several times (l. 31).
g. Right: she “corrects” what her mother says (ll. 39, 47).
h. Right: she says, “almost sadly” that the country is different from what she expected (l. 46).
8. Venant d’un pays où tout ce qui a plus de cent ans est ancien / antique, ils sont ébahis de constater que
le passé de la Grande-Bretagne est si visible, si palpable. On traverse Londres, par exemple, et chaque
ruelle détient des secrets. Chaque église, chaque rangée de boutiques et de maisons racontent une histoire.
On ne trouve pas cela en Amérique.
Sujet d’épreuve simulée de Bac adapté aux sections STT
Les difficultés lexicales et grammaticales étant rares dans ce texte, il peut en être donné une version abrégée
aux classes des Sections technologiques, accompagnée de questions appropriées, que vous trouverez cidessous, ainsi qu’une proposition de barème et de corrigé.
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“England is not exactly like I pictured it”
5
10
15
20
25
“But they don’t have cars like we do, do they?” said my mother, her voice echoing on the phone.
I said, “What are you talking about, Mom, of course the British have cars. Haven’t you heard of
Rolls Royce?”
“And what about the toilets?” she wanted to know. “Mrs Lovell at the church said they’ve still got
out-houses, even in the city.”
“Mom, Mrs Lovell at the church was in England during the war, for Pete’s sake. She spent most of
her time in a tube station.”
“What about food?” asked my mother, “Should I bring some with me? Mrs Lovell says it’s hard to
get fresh fruit.”
“Mom, you’re coming to London, not trekking through Katmandu.”
Americans come to Britain because it is still, for many of us, the motherland. Britain gave us our
language; many of our ideas of literature and culture; our founding fathers and our first presidents;
and mercifully few of our ideas on cooking. They come here because they recognise place names
and they can read the menus. Because everything is both foreign and familiar.
Americans love England because it is so quaint and charming; so old. There are no medieval ruins
in New Jersey. There are no 700-year-old castles in Nebraska.
Most of the Americans I know who live permanently in London left home for a single, clear,
uncluttered reason: they wanted to get away from Florida or Pennsylvania or Texas or Minnesota.
Most of them have chosen to stay for an equally clear and simple reason: it isn’t America.
“I still think you should have let me buy some bananas,” said my mother, settling herself down into
the corner booth of the restaurant. Music that was neither one thing nor another played softly in the
background. Tired of the rain and being wet all the time, I’d taken my mother to Brent Cross in north
London for the day, she’d travelled thousands of miles in order to go to a shopping centre.
“Mom,” I said, not as patiently as I had the first few dozen times I’d said this, “Mom, you’ve got to
stop trying to buy bananas. You’ve got to try to understand: there’s no longer a fruit shortage in
Great Britain. That was during the war. Now you can buy bananas whenever you want. You can buy
mangoes and papaya. We are no longer restricted to root vegetables.”
“I don’t know,” said my mother. “England is not exactly like I pictured it.”
“Britain,” I corrected.
Dyan Sheldon, A Woman’s Eye View of Britain Today, 1990
COMPREHENSION
1. Put the three parts of the text into the right order and note the lines.
Part …: Reflection (line … to line …)
Part …: Disillusion (line … to line …)
Part …: Anxiety (line … to line …)
2. Where do these people live: in Great Britain or in the USA?
The narrator: …
The person called “Mom”: …
Mrs Lovell: …
3. Complete with words from the text.
The text starts with a conversation on the … between the narrator and her …, that / whom she calls Mom.
Mom is speaking about her visit to …. She expresses her apprehension about …, … and …, because of the
information given by Mrs Lovell, who spent some time in … during the … . Unfortunately, they visited …
London in the …, that’s why the narrator finally took her mother to a …. Mom is obsessed by the desire to
buy …, as if fruit were … as it was … the war. That’s why her daughter speaks to her less and less … .
4. Right or wrong? Justify your choice by quoting the text. Indicate the lines of reference.
a. Dyan is of American origin.
b. Mrs Lovell is Mom’s closest neighbour.
c. The narrator had never heard of Mrs Lovell before.
d. Mom is enthusiastic at the idea of discovering Britain.
e. She is also going to Katmandu.
f. Mom is obstinate.
g. The narrator is more and more tolerant with her mother.
h. The narrator sometimes behaves like a teacher.
i. Mom is disappointed by what she sees in England.
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j. Dyan says Americans are fond of old buildings.
k. She adds that Americans love England because everything is just like at home.
l. According to her, Americans do not enjoy English cuisine.
m. She claims that the Americans who settle in London want to live a different life.
5. Find (in the order of the text) the words corresponding to the definitions or synonyms.
– toilets which are separated from the building: … (line …)
– the country of origin: … (line …)
– fortunately: … (line …)
– strange, unfamiliar: … (line …)
– exclusive, unique: … (line …)
– a situation where there is not enough of something needed: … (line …)
– to form a mental image of something: … (line …)
6. Pick out the names of three fruit. Which of them are exotic fruit? Is it easy to buy them in Britain?
EXPRESSION
Do subjects 1 and 2.
1. Imagine you have the opportunity to go and live in a foreign country. Which would you choose? Why?
(100 words)
2. The narrator phones her sister to tell her about their mother’s visit. Imagine their conversation. (100 words)
Corrigé de l’épreuve simulée de Bac, section STT
Barème
Compréhension : 120 points, ramenés à 12 points + expression : 80 points, ramenés à 8 points.
COMPREHENSION
1. Put the three parts of the text into the right order and note the lines. 9 points
Part 1: Anxiety (line 1 to line 10)
Part 2: Reflection (line 10 to line 19)
Part 3: Disillusion (line 20 to line 29)
2. Where do these people live: in Great Britain or in the USA? 6 points
The narrator: in Great Britain
The person called “Mom”: in the USA
Mrs Lovell: in the USA
3. Complete with words from the text. 30 points
The text starts with a conversation on the phone between the narrator and her mother, that / whom she calls
Mom. Mom is speaking about her visit to London. She expresses her apprehension about cars, toilets and food,
because of the information given by Mrs Lovell, who spent some time in England during the war.
Unfortunately, they visited north London / Brent Cross in the rain, that’s why the narrator finally took her
mother to a restaurant (shopping centre accepté). Mom is obsessed by the desire to buy bananas, as if fruit
were restricted as it was during the war. That’s why her daughter speaks to her less and less patiently.
4. Right or wrong? Justify your choice by quoting the text. Indicate the lines of reference. 39 points
a. Right: “Americans come to Britain because it is still, for many of us, the motherland” (l. 11).
b. Wrong: “Mrs Lovell at the church” (l. 4).
c. Wrong: “Mom, Mrs Lovell at the church was in England during the war” (l. 6).
d. Wrong: (her questions on lines 1, 4 and 8)
e. Wrong: “... not trekking through Katmandu” (l. 10).
f. Right: “I still think you should have let me buy bananas” (l. 20).
g. Wrong: “not as patiently as I had the first few dozen times...” (l. 24).
h. Right: “Britain, I corrected” (l. 29).
i. Right: “England is not exactly like I pictured it” (l. 28).
j. Right: “Americans love England because it is so quaint and charming; so old. There are no medieval
ruins in New Jersey. There are no 700-year-old castles in Nebraska” (ll. 15-16).
k. Wrong: “everything is both foreign and familiar” (l. 14).
l. Right: “Britain gave us ... mercifully few of our ideas on cooking” (ll. 11-13).
m. Right: “Most of them have chosen to stay for an equally clear and simple reason: it isn’t America”
(l. 19).
99
5. Find the words corresponding to the definitions or synonyms. 21 points
– toilets which are separated from the building: out-houses (l. 5).
– the country of origin: the motherland (l. 11).
– fortunately: mercifully (l. 13).
– strange, unfamiliar: foreign (l. 14).
– exclusive, unique: single (l. 17).
– a situation where there is not enough of something needed: shortage (l. 25).
– formed a mental image of something: pictured (l. 28).
6. Pick out the names of the fruit. Which of them are exotic fruit? Is it easy to buy them in Britain?
15 points
Bananas, mangoes and papaya are exotic fruit. They are easy to buy in Britain: “Now you can buy bananas
whenever you want. You can buy mangoes and papaya.” (ll. 26-27)
EXPRESSION
Voir suggestions page 95.
Over to you..., page 47
Cette rubrique constitue un entraînement supplémentaire dans le cadre de l’expression personnelle. Selon les
sections et le type de Bac préparé, le professeur en fera une activité orale ou écrite, préparée ou spontanée.
La démarche ira du visible et de l’explicite vers l’implicite. L’élève sera invité à exploiter les idées et le vocabulaire travaillés au cours de l’unité et dans le texte du sujet de Bac. On donnera “stuffed fox” et “pout”. On
n’imposera pas un corrigé, mais on pourra laisser une trace écrite après l’activité.
Par exemple :
Setting: lunch-time in a restaurant ; summer-time (straw hat, sun-glasses, sleeveless dress).
Composition of the picture: in the foreground: a table (description), in the middle ground: two ladies
(description), in the background: other clients of the restaurant, possibly tourists (description).
Attitudes: tourists having fun, younger lady enjoying glass of wine, elderly lady pouting.
Interpretation: the two ladies = possibly Dyan and Mom, in London. Dyan trying to have some rest and
comfort through enjoyable meal after discussion with Mom. Mom possibly a fussy eater; or being in a sulk
after discussion with Dyan; or showing some disgust at what she is observing over the table, for instance
people not behaving as Americans would; or betraying culture shock at sight of raw vegetables and stuffed
fox as decoration on table.
Humour: resemblance between old, nagging lady and stuffed fox.
100
Notes
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